Islam: The Untold Story

Vorlage:Infobox film Islam: The Untold Story is a documentary film written and presented by the English novelist and popular historian Tom Holland. The documentary is a search for the origins of Islam. Its release followed on from the publication of Holland's most recent work of popular history, In The Shadow Of The Sword: The Battle for Global Empire and the End of the Ancient World (2012), in which he also dealt with the origins of Islam.

Upon release, the documentary proved controversial, provoking criticism from figures within the country's Islamic community. Ofcom and the broadcaster Channel 4 received an estimated 1200 complaints regarding the program. As a result of the opposition, Channel 4 decided to cancel a public screening of the documentary that they had originally planned.

Background

Tom Holland was an English novelist and popular historian who had published a trio of best selling histories of the ancient world: Rubicon (2003), Persian Fire (2005), and Millennium: The End of the World and the Forging of Christendom (2008). In 2012, Holland's fourth work of history, In The Shadow Of The Sword: The Battle for Global Empire and the End of the Ancient World, was published, which explored the rise of Islam.

Synopsis

In Islam: The Untold Story, Holland deals with the origins of the religion Islam.

Holland claimed there was little hard evidence for the origins of Islam and asked why it took several decades after the death of Muhammad for his name to appear on surviving documents or artefacts. Holland said there was little evidence for how the faith was born. He suggested Mecca may not have been the real birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad and Islam.

Reception

Mainstream media reception

Writing in The Telegraph, Christopher Howse, commentator on religious issues, was critical of the documentary, awarding it two stars out of five and labeling it "disjointed". He furthermore argued that the documentary placed too much of an emphasis on historiography but that its "crowning annoyance" was Holland's habit of pausing mid sentence. In contrast, Ed West, also of The Telegraph, praised the documentary, stating that it was "atmospheric and intelligent". Noting that it would have made many viewers uncomfortable, he proceeded to argue that the Islamic world had to accept "higher criticism" and "embrace the pain of doubt" in order to improve life not only for themselves, but also for their non-Muslim neighbours.

In The Independent, television reviewer Tom Sutcliffe discussed the documentary, noting that it was likely to cause controversy and get Holland into trouble. Although he asserted that he didn't know what devout Muslims would think of the documentary, but that they did not have "a monopoly on literalist affront".

Islamic community's reception

According to the BBC, the Islamic Education & Research Academy said it was "historically inaccurate" and "clearly biased". The Islamic Education & Research Academy believes that "in an important 74 minutes long full of "complex arguments" and "academic scholarship" documentary, Holland should have spent a little more time with Islamic historians instead of wasting all those precious minutes in learning the way of the Bedouin."

Tom Holland's response

In a response to critics of the documentary, Tom Holland concedes that all that he hopes to do (with this documentary) is to introduce an academic debate with careful contextualising to the larger television audience.

Cancelled public screening

Channel 4 announced on 11 September 2012 that it would be cancelling screening of the film at its headquarters after security fears were raised.